August 2021 Prayer Requests

First of all, I would like to thank you for all of your prayers for the Methodist church in Estonia! We are blessed to have brothers and sisters in Christ who think about us and pray for us! Thank you!

We thank God that our summer events have been going as planned and God has really blessed our summer camps.

Our concern is that the number of Covid-19 cases is on a steep rise and new restrictions are insight. Please pray that the situation would get under control and no restrictions would be necessary.

Please pray for the summer conference that starts on August 5th, that it would be a spiritually refreshing and empowering time for all who come, but also that the Lord would keep us safe.

Also please pray for the preparation of the Annual Conference which will take place at the very beginning of September.

We were very sad to learn about Rev. Eddie Fox passing away. He was a remarkable person on fire for the Lord and had a great love for Estonia. His ministry made a great lasting impact on the church in Estonia and that is why we considered him an honorary member of our Annual Conference. Our prayers go out to Mary Nell Fox and all of their family during this difficult time.

The seminary opens in mid-August. Pray that faculty and students are able to have a “normal” start to the year.
Pray also for Estonian and particularly for the public school system that they may also have a “normal” start to the school year. Pray that the new wave of the virus is smaller than currently projected.

Prayers are also needed for the accreditation process which is coming up this fall. We ask for special wisdom and guidance from above for the administration so this process would go smoothly and favorably.

We also learned this week about the passing of Eddie Fox who was a longtime friend and contributor to the seminary. Pray for his family and that the work he did with the seminary and elsewhere will continue to bear fruit for many years to come.

I praise God for having some vacation rest this past month. Also, I am so grateful to God that we have had the opportunity to have all our children at our home together – which is quite a treat, because they all live in different countries.

I pray for wisdom and patience as international mission events and programs need to be prepared, and as we all know, the needed clarity about travel restrictions and the general COVID-19 situation is not coming. Because each country is in a different place and has different regulations, it is a true nightmare to plan anything.

In particular, I ask for your prayers for the most important international event for my program that I am responsible for – the Institute for Multicultural Ministry that is scheduled to take place in the last week of August in Stuttgart, Germany. We still hope to host an in-person event, but there are many uncertainties.

Thank you for our prayer connection!

I am super grateful for the retreat of our Youth Board in Rakvere, where God served us through prayer and worship. Holy Spirit was present in a special way preparing us for the season. We experienced encouragement, eagerness, being set free, fresh, and life-giving touch of God.

I am thankful for the 6-day youth camp, where participated 120 Estonian and Russian youth, age older than 15. Out of which were 20 Estonian youth. We had an incredible time at Camp Gideon. Our youth enjoyed the weather, action, fellowship, and time with God. I personally see that we Estonians and Russians need each other. We both understand it, admit it, we collaborate, already dream and plan next events together.

God is doing amazing work among teenagers. We had our second Estonian speaking camp for teenagers. It was the highlight of the year and we saw how important and blessed this camp was. The interest has grown, we need more volunteers, strategic planning and unity in the team.
Personally, I ask for fresh strength from God, wisdom, and moments in his presence.

I feel in my spirit that God is waking up the wind of revival and new generation in Methodist youth work. It makes me humble and at the same time, it is powerful to experience God’s grace and work.

Thank you for being with us and carrying us in your prayerful hands!

• Pray for Summer conference in Camp Gideon, 5 to 8 of August. Pray that all speakers and participants feel a real touch of Spirit. Pray also for their safety.
• Pray that churches will be available for services and other activities.
• Pray for people who are sick, lonely , hopeless, that they find a way to God for solving their problems.
• Pray for children and youth, that wonderful summertime will be time with Christ and growing in faith.

Praise God for a wonderful July with so many opportunities to talk and encourage people. It has been a very blessed month. But pray for those who are still feeling stressed and tired after the extremely difficult year, that God would guide them to the balance and peace they need in their lives and ministry.

Pray for the Seminary as we deal both with the preparation for a new school year (pray that God would bring us new students committed to developing for ministry) and completing the latest accreditation report (due 1 Sept.).

Pray for us, that God would give a clear strategy and energy to continue serving the church the best we can in the ongoing stress of the pandemic and all the instability that comes with it.

We would very much appreciate your prayers. Livia’s mother and her husband back in Brazil have both tested positive for COVID-19. Both have received the two jabs, and thankfully, Celia (Livia’s mom) is not feeling any symptoms, but her husband, Paulo Caesar is very sick. He has a long history of medical issues that complicate his situation and make him especially vulnerable. He is currently not in the hospital, but his condition is worsening so that may change. Please pray that God would bring healing. Neither Celia nor Paulo Caesar are believers, so pray that they would hear God calling to them as well.

We are grateful that God gave us the opportunity to help improve one of the boys life conditions during this summer. 10 year old Johannes lives with his grandfather, who is very ill and does not go outside home. The condition of their apartment was very bad and during the distance learning, the boy did not turn on the webcam so that the teacher could not see their home. In one room, the floor was rotten, rats were running, there was no electricity. We helped to clean their home and asked one construction company if they could help with the repairs, and they agreed to tidy up the floor and paint the walls and ceiling in one room. They did it for free for this family. In addition to repairs, they also helped to find new furniture there. The boy was so happy that he could now invite his friends to visit. We thank God for this opportunity and bless this construction company. You can find photos from this apartment below (the first two are before and and second two pictures are after).

Top row: before; Bottom row: after

In summer, two families visiting the children’s center moved to another town. We pray for them to adjust to the new place and find Christian fellowship there.

God bless you!

We thank God for the opportunity to host all summer camps for us.

Pray for the absence of a new wave of closures due to the epidemic, many things become impossible.

We believe that God will guide us and give us strength.

In August, from 16 to 20, we are planning to hold a children’s day camp.

Join in prayer for the guys so that the Spirit of God would fill them with His love.

I am so grateful to God for the V.B.S. It was difficult to make longer plans because of the Covid-19 virus. After all the prayers and preparations turned out the VBS really well. Children and families had 3 wonderful days in Agape church and the local volunteers are excited to make plans for next summer´s V.B.S. already.

I am happy to see new people going to Agape church. There are some people, who need special care and they can go to church only with someone else to take them. There are a few young men coming to the church lately. They have been a prisoner and trying to find new friends after isolations. Please pray for the others in the church, that we are able to communicate as well as possible, these young men can find a place in the congregation.

Please pray for the anniversary at the end of August. Agape church turns 100. There are many things that I can´t handle and I have no ideas, how it can go. Sure, the church needs to be open for everyone, but the new version of the Covid-19 virus is making things to be more difficult again.

Please pray for the congregation in the last weeks and please pray for people who could join with Agape´s celebrations. Let it all be in God´s hands and He can do the best for everyone.

Dear friends! How much we miss you all! We continue to pray the Covid-19 to stop and recovery for all who have suffered through it!

Praises: Children’s food project, that the Lord has provided workers, love, and children. Today our city mayor is doing pancakes for children in our church

Praise for bike-hike in Võru county and teenage camp in Ruusmäe – it was a great time.

We could celebrate with our partner church in Haapsalu their church-building 99-anniversary and enjoy the fellowship.

Prayer: Summer conference that nobody will bring and get the virus, that the lives will be blessed and changed and God will renew the church! Also, Aldersgate’s 10th anniversary will be celebrated during the conference.

Baby Eleanora who was born on Saturday, but had virus, that she will be completely healed.